We know that the microgravity experienced in Earth orbit has negative effects in the short and the long term. I am not certain that we have established - and certainly not by experiment - that the same is true of low gravity environments. We may have inferred that it is likely, but that is not quite the same thing. Do you have any evidence that low gravity would present as severe a problem as microgravity?

Staff: Mentor

Assuming for a moment that low gravity would be a problem (given how the human body has adapted for conditions on Earth I think that's a sensible assumption) another problem this idea has is the distribution of the compressive force. In a gravity field the force is evenly distributed throughout your body but wearing a weight of some kind will send the bulk of the force through specific tissues i.e. the load bearing tissues of the musculoskeletal system.

Then there's the problem of added inertia. I.e., imagine you desing clotes/gear that makes the person 6 times more massive to simulate Earth's gravitational influence on the Moon in the downward direction. You end up with half-tonne people fighting against the increased inertia of their bodies to perform everyday activities, and bumping into each other in the corridors.
That's probably less healthy than whatever the microgravity might cause.